Receive the latest popcornbiz updates in your inbox

Bre Pettis, chief roboticist at Makerbot, chats with Scott Ross about the possibility of a Transformer future. (Published Wednesday, May 30, 2012)

Updated at 1:41 PM CST on Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Bigger Decepticon threats? Epic 3D action? More elaborate stunts? "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" star Shia LaBeouf appreciated all of these things - but for him, the best thing about a third go-round with the Autobots is the fresh perspective of a new leading lady in Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

“It’s actually beneficial to have a new set of eyes,” says LaBeouf, “because in the first movie what you had was this discovery of people seeing these robots for the first time, and that was one of the most magical parts of the movie, that discovery. And you lose that in the second movie because the two characters are vetted, and Mikeala and Sam almost become one character with no arc in the second movie. So selfishly, it hindered my performance because I had less to chew on, and it hindered her performance as well, and I think it hindered the movie."

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Talks Replacing Megan Fox In 'Transformers'

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley chats in Moscow, a day after the film's premiere, about what it was like for her to take over for Megan Fox in the franchise. Plus, was she able to take things she'd learned as a model onto the "Transformers" set? (Published Tuesday, Mar 4, 2014)

He continues: "Here you have a fresh set of eyes in Rosie, and what that does is make Sam more heroic. When two people have been vetted at the same status and they’ve been through the wars together, there’s nobody for Sam to be heroic to or for. For this just ups the heroism in Sam and therefore makes my character more interesting, so selfishly, I was very happy that Rosie was here.”

There were, the actor admits, other reasons to be selfishly happy, since the “Transformers” films have paired him with Huntington-Whitely, a former Victoria’s Secret model, and previous co-star Megan Fox.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on Being a Sex Symbol: "I'm Very Honored"

“Obviously these women are very beautiful, so that’s very enjoyable on a purely 14-year-old male level,” he admits. “I’d be lying if I said it’s not a pleasure to be around these women, for everybody – especially because there’s so much machismo on this set. Rosie would always come to set with levity, joy, a break in the monotonous – sort of like the mascot, the cheerleader for all of us.”